A Dangerous Game
by BigEyesBigSmile
Summary: You can know exactly what's going to happen when it happens but experiencing it? That's a whole other thing entirely. Everything gets swept together in a flurry of memories and panic. You can't tell if it's really happening like you thought it would, or if everything's changing. One piece I have of advice for any of you who might fall. Don't Play God.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1: Falling but Living

One would typically think that falling into the Avatar world was fun and games. After all, the show was about children. They laughed and played, were sarcastic and funny, even in the face of looming defeat and sorrow. So I, naïve as I was, thought it would be filled with adventure, happiness, love, peace, and of course, a whirlwind of a romance with Zuko. I was obviously a fangirl. I had often told my brother that if he asked, I would marry Zuko in a heartbeat. There would be no hesitation there.

I was entirely wrong.

The show downplayed the major aspects of war; the deaths and tragedies which took place. Of course there were a few episodes which captured it perfectly but still, in all, the mass murder which took place within the war was often glossed over.

Now it never occurred to me that I would actually fall into Avatar; it was something I read about in fanfictions, not something that actually happened. Of course, I was wrong about that too. I gradually learned, I was incorrect about a number of things.

I and my brother, Daren, were running around the park outside of our house. We were both overweight, I was 175 pounds and he was 174 and we were trying to lose weight. However, I wasn't very inspired. I went occasionally, every once in a while doing about two miles each time. I was extremely lazy. We had just finished our tenth round around the park when my brother said,

"Really Abigail, you had all this talk about being slim trim and glamorous and now you're barely keeping up with me." He jabbed.

Daren was seventeen, three years older than me and could run at least twenty when he put his mind to it. If I went running, he would always join me to be my "personal trainer"

"You know that's not fair…" I said panting. "You've been doing this far longer than I have…"

"Just come out and run more and you'll get better." He stated.

"Easy for you to say." I muttered.

"I'll tell you what, you run another ten rounds with me and I'll treat you to some Baskin Robin's Ice cream." My brother promised.

With new fire in my veins, I managed to miraculously complete another ten rounds, heaving and gasping for breath afterwards. But my brother made good on his promise and he drove me to Baskin Robin's that day.

While we were driving, we started talking about Avatar. It was the most amazing show ever in my opinion and the best of the past decade whereas my brother argued that Gravity Falls was the best show of the past decade.

"I'm not saying its bad--"I tried.

"You haven't even seen it!" Daren complained. "How can you constantly put it down because of its animation?"

"I just don't like the animation! The end! Now if someone poured in enough time to make it into an anime, then I would watch it." I snapped.

"But that's not the point!" Daren replied.

"How can you get better than Avatar? The characters are memorable and loveable and complex, and… Zuko." I stated dreamily.

"You and your fangirl crush on Zuko." Daren snorted.

"He is my one and only love for life. If he asked me to marry him, I say yes in a heartbeat. And even if he didn't, I would always watch from the sidelines, always loving him…" I said smiling.

"Yeah, you'd have to watch from the sidelines because Zuko belongs to Mai." Daren jabbed.

"Ugh, I hate Mai. She and Zuko have no chemistry whatsoever." I complained. "She's so drab and boring; Zuko needs a girl with spirit."

"Like you?" Daren laughed.

"No, like Kioni, or Dakota, or Ameya!"

(Shout out to Earth on Fire and Water: Twist of Fate and Earth: Bring it down and Fated Meetings. If you like OC fics, you should definitely check them out)

"Oh, so you don't consider yourself the right girl for Zuko even though you love him and would marry him in a heartbeat even though he's not real."

I scoffed, "It's not like that. I'm exaggerating. Yes, Zuko needs a girl with spirit but honestly, I don't think I'm the right one. I mean, I'm kind of passionate about a few things but not really."

"Yeah, running is one of them." Daren smirked.

"And I am not probably pretty enough, overweight, acne, and I can be really loud and obnoxious sometimes. Honestly, if I met Zuko I think he would throw me in the brig and be done with me." I replied.

"… But not Iroh." Daren returned.

"True, Iroh is my favourite character and he'd totally invite me for tea!" I said laughing.

"Yeah, he probably would. Hey Gail, what time is your band practice?" Daren asked.

"Oh yeah, that's today. Ballet is tomorrow. Six--"

Suddenly the car lurched forward and I felt my seat belt tightening around my neck. Horns honked and glass shattered and I blacked out.

line break*

I woke up with a stinging headache. Everything hurt and my throat was scratchy. The last thing I remembered was the conversation, the chocking seat belt and…

"Daren!" I yelled.

"Be still young girl." I heard an old woman chastise me.

I opened my eyes and beheld an old wrinkled woman. Her skin was like leather, sagging off her bones and she wore a green tunic like one out of ancient China. Her green eyes were deep and kind and she was binding up my leg which was covered in scratches. Strangely, I didn't feel it. I tried moving my leg but nothing happened.

I began to panic. Had I lost feeling of my leg?

"It's the herbs. Your leg is gashed in several places and you would be in severe pain if I didn't rub some herbs and ointments into it."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." I said before coughing.

"Here, drink this." The woman said to me handing me a cracked clay bowl of liquid.

The liquid smelled terrible but I had learned from my parents that if it's medicine it should cure you so drink it anyway. Holding my nose, I swallowed the bitter soup, instantly feeling revived.

"My brother?" I asked hoarsely.

"The young man who was with you?" The woman answered. "He's resting as well. You are lucky. When we found you, the Fire Nation had left you for dead."

I choked on air. Did she say the Fire Nation?

"What do you mean?" I asked hoping to get a little more information.

"We found you one the road. You both are such young travellers but refugees come in all shapes and sizes. You were both carrying several wounds; your brother burned on the chest and had gashes on his eyes. He will most likely never see again. And you had a severe head wound along with a diced up leg. I don't know if your leg will recover well but I have treated you the best I can."

My brother was blind? The Fire Nation had attacked us? It was all dizzying and confusing. Everything was spinning around me and I couldn't think straight.

"Lie down and rest. Tomorrow, when you feel better, you can tell me your names and you will be welcome to stay here for as long as you like." The woman comforted.

I drifted back to sleep.

line break*

As I dressed myself, I caught sight of my reflection in the cracked dusty mirror and was astonished how much I had changed. My mother was Caucasian and my Father was Malaysian so my brother and I were pretty well mixed. My dark curly hair was a bit different from the straight hair of the Earth Kingdom girls but not strange enough that people would ask questions. I had definitely lost weight from eating stale flat bread and small portions of vegetables, when we got them. My brother and I had brown eyes so most people assumed we were non benders.

We were, in fact, non benders. When we had first come to accept we had fallen into the Avatar world, we had both secretly hoped we would be able to bend but no matter how hard we tried we couldn't. We didn't feel the pull of the elements or the chi within our bodies. We made peace with it though. We fitted in perfectly with the Earth village and kept silent about our… past. Often, I found myself missing my family. I had three other siblings. My oldest brother, Damon, my younger brother, Alton, and my younger sister Marie were all back… home. I would probably never see them again. But having Daren with me made it better. He kept me from feeling alone.

Yes, we were officially in Avatar.

And no, we weren't anywhere near the South Pole and we had no idea whether the series had started or not. We just knew we were in the Earth kingdom.

I dressed myself in a dirty green tunic and pants and headed out to the fields. We had been in the village for almost two weeks, each of us working to earn our stay at Kita's house. Kita was the old woman who doctored us for the first week until we could walk again.

My right leg, the injured one, didn't respond very well. Some nerves and muscle had been cut through and so I always used a crutch. Whenever I tripped, fell, sprained my arm from working so much, I always cursed and got angry and grew frustrated. At home… I had been attending dance classes. I had loved to dance but now, I would probably never dance again. Honestly, this wasn't how I thought it was going to be. But my brother… even though he had lost his sight, he always remained sarcastically cheerful. He always encouraged me no matter what and he kept me together when I felt like giving up. I loved him for that.

Slowly, we got accustomed to our crazy, Avatar life.

I would wake up at nearly dawn and walk out to the field and helped gather wild vegetables, wild rice, weeds and herbs for Kita. Then I would go back to her house and fixed lunch which was usually whatever I gathered out in the fields. Then Kita, who was sort of a doctor, taught me what was what and how to cure small colds, or stitch up a cut, or even setting dislocated bones. She was teaching me to be healer and that was something I was passionate about. I knew that war would eventually come and I knew probably, I would eventually, with my brother, go searching for the main characters. I when I found them, I would want to be extremely useful.

There was no way I was going to not meet them.

My brother, because he was blind, took to teaching the kids of the village simple science, mathematics, and history. Because we had watched the show so many times, we knew the history better than our own countries.

It was a harder life, but not a typically hard one. The Fire Nation never came to the- our village and we lived that way for nearly a year. Then… it happened.

 **authors note**

 **so this is my attempt at an avatar oc fic. i want to see how well it is accepted before getting serious about it.** **smiles!**


	2. My Passion, Revenge

Chapter 2: My Passion, Revenge

I was out in the fields and it was mid morning. The sun was shining just right so I could glimpse myself in the water of the stream. My hair had grown out rather well and was kept up in a really messy ponytail. The curls were flying everywhere. I had lost a lot of weight but remained pretty… ample in the chest area and was giddily thinking of meeting Zuko. I didn't particularly think of myself as gorgeous but I was pretty. Of course I was still his fangirl; I would always be his fangirl.

However, to my dismay, I caught sight of part of my face which was breaking out with acne. Unfortunately, despite being thrown into the Avatar world, my acne still followed me.

Within my old beaten basket were several herbs, some of them for the days' lunch and others for the old man which lived a few miles away from our cottage. He had back pains and I was going to make medicine for him. Kita's hands were shaky from arthritis and she needed my, as she called, "youthful" hands to mix the herbs together perfectly.

I started heading back to the cottage when I saw smoke on the horizon. That was not good. I knew the maybe, just maybe, Kita had set something on fire, it had happened once before. Even Daren might have lit something on accident.

 _But there was so much smoke._

I dropped my basket and started running with all my might, my right leg crying out in pain as I dropped my supporting crutch to run even faster. The uneven ground and shifting dirt was not making it any easier but I managed to make do. What was happening? About half-way there, I heard my brother calling,

"Gail! Gail!" He was shouting desperately in every direction.

"I'm here!" I called back breathless.

"Abigail!" He said before running towards me, following the sound of my voice.

Grabbing me violently by the shoulders he said, "We need to run, now! The Fire Nation is here!"

So many times in the show had I heard that phrase but now, listening to it from my own brother's panicked voice was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The terror, the dread, the absolute fear began to creep into my heart, seizing it with its strong fist and refusing to let go. He clutched my hand and began pulling me back to the village.

"Wrong way you idiot!" I said. "Let me take lead."

I then pulled him towards the stream. Beyond the stream was a thicket of trees which would provide us cover. Because most of my herbs came from the forest, I knew the thicket like the back of my hand.

We had to make it.

However, due to my injury, I only made it a little ways before tripping. I heard the snap of my ankle and the blaring pain told me that I had twisted it at best, probably broke it. I cried out in pain.

My brother shushed me and stood still. He was listening. Cursing for the first time in a year, or at least, in front of me, he asked desperately,

"Is there any place to hide?"

I groaned, "There's a burrow… about big enough for one person…" I clutched my ankle. I looked at him, tears streaming down my face. It was only large enough for one of us. "Go. Leave me. I'll just be dead weight." I sniffled. "I can't even run for my life."

"Since when did you become so self-sacrificing?" Daren asked before picking me up bridal style.

"Daren what are you doing?" I questioned. "What are you doing?!" I yelled.

"Go and meet Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and the rest of them." He started. "Go meet Zuko and fall in love." He continued. "Go live." He finished before dumping me into the little burrow which he had miraculously been able to find without my help.

"Please don't Daren!" I cried. "Please! Don't leave me alone! Don't you dare leave me alone! I need you!"

"I'll see you later!" He said before disappearing from my sight.

I crouched in the hole, biting my lip to keep me from screaming. Tears kept pouring from my face and I couldn't stop. Suddenly, I heard a cold voice say,

"What have we here? A young earthen dog who wants to join the Fire Nation army's front lines?" He cruelly said.

"Wait Commander Zhao," A voice said. "He's blind. He won't be of much use. Not that he was going to be of use anyway but it might be better just to kill him now."

I felt my blood run cold. Commander Zhao. Of all the characters I wanted to meet, he was the last one on the list, even below the Fire Lord.

"So he dies now or dies later... take him away. I don't wish to dirty my hands or waste time. I must find the Avatar. Just put him at the front. He can die then." Zhao said.

I felt blood trickle down my lip. I bitten so hard, it bled. I wanted to shout, to scream, to tell them to stop. My brother didn't protest. He knew that would just get him killed immediately. Keeping silent was the hardest thing; my focus was poured into staying quiet.

I let the minutes trickle by; until I was sure they were gone before crawling out of the burrow. The wind blew and in the distance, I could see the hateful soldiers walking off with my beloved brother.

He was going to die. They were taking him to his death. I collapsed on the ground in a fit of tears and anguish. Then, from behind me, I heard someone. Turning my head, I beheld another Fire Nation soldier. He had obviously seen me and had come to end me. He prepared to rid the world of my existence and there was nothing I could do.

Then something inside me snapped.

I felt pure, unyielding, hatred. I was livid. I was angry.

I was on fire.

I threw my hands in front of me and white fire came from my fingers, scorching the grass and burning the guard in a blazing inferno of rage. As the flames died down, I felt empty.

Dead.

I stared at the burning corpse of the guard. Black blood dripped and his burned flesh stared at me. It was something out of my worst nightmares. I began to hyperventilate. I had just killed someone. He was dead because… I had…

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-"

I shut my own mouth forcefully. They would hear me. They would see me and come for me, taking me away as well. I couldn't get caught, not after my brother had sacrificed his own life to save me. Groaning in pain, I crawled to the stream, finding my basket where I had dropped it along with my crutch. Wincing as I got up using my crutch to support my weight, I hobbled over the stream, getting my lower body soaked. Walking into the forest, further away from my- the village, I huddled against a tree.

I heaved as the past minutes flashed through my mind.

This was not how I thought it was going to be. Not anything like it.

I wasn't a murderer... I wasn't... I hadn't killed anyone. It wasn't my fault. I was innocent. But even as I painfully tried to convince myself, my conscience wouldn't let me go. I had murdered him. It was me.

With those thoughts, I drifted into fitful sleep.

* * *

 _"_ _Ugh!" I yelled, frustrated._

 _My leg was hurting terribly and falling didn't help it at all. I started crying. I had just wanted to try and dance again. Why couldn't I? This wasn't how it was supposed to be!_

 _I curled up and just cried. My leg ached and was probably twisted. I had a terrible headache and snot was running out my nose. Loneliness was engulfing me. I missed my family terribly. Not a day would go by without me thinking of them, but today was the worst. I would give anything to just hear them again. My dad shouting at me to clean up my room, my mom scolding me for not doing my homework, my younger brother Alton bragging about how he was taller than me, my little sister Marie leaving her junk toys everywhere, and even my oldest brother Damen who hardly called us because he was away in college; I would have given anything just to see them again, hear them again, be with them again._

 _"_ _Gail?" I heard Daren ask._

 _"_ _What?" I sniffled._

 _"_ _Are you okay?"_

 _Wiping my tears away and sucking up my snot, I tried for a smile. I hated people seeing me cry. I felt if someone saw me crying then suddenly, I wouldn't be the same anymore. I generally put up a front of being happy all the time. In front of my friends, in front of my family, just about anyone, I pretended I was fine in order for them to think I was always fine._

 _I didn't like people thinking I wasn't._

 _"_ _I'm fine." Came my reply._

 _"_ _No you're not." He answered._

 _"_ _I really am fine. It's just my leg. If I get up-"_

 _I tried standing up but my brother grabbed me by the shoulders and gently sat me back down. Taking a seat beside me, he sighed._

 _"_ _Don't think you're the only one who misses them. I do too."_

 _Like a dam being released, a flood of tears escaped me and I hugged him. I couldn't stop the emotions which had been bottled up for too long._

 _"_ _I just want to see them again." I cried. "I don't care about Avatar! I don't care about Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, or Zuko! I just want to see them again! Our real family!"_

 _My brother held my as uncontrollable sobs continued to come out of me. I realized that day, although we had lost everything, we still had each other. And as long as I had him, I would be fine…_

* * *

I woke up cold, wet, hungry and shaking. I felt my forehead and deemed myself slightly feverish. The day's events hit my like a load of bricks to the face. I felt so hollow and so alone. I wind blew and I shivered. Tears began to drip but I wiped them away.

Now was not the time to be crying.

I needed to head back to the village. The soldiers were most likely gone by now. I needed to talk to Kita and get supplies. When I fell asleep, I had no clue what I was going to do until it finally dawned on me. My brother was going to the front, emphasis on going. He wasn't there yet. They hadn't even killed him. This meant he was still alive and I could rescue him. But I couldn't do it alone. Although I had figured out I could fire bend, I didn't know how to properly do it. I needed help. I needed allies.

I needed team Avatar.

But finding them wasn't going to be easy. I had no idea where I was or where in the timeline I was either. But it had started. The only word's I would ever appreciate out of Zhao's mouth were,

"I need to find the Avatar."

That meant Aang had already surfaced and was probably traveling to the North Pole. Honestly, I was grasping straws. But I would take whatever I would get.

I would have to start traveling to the North Pole as well and be on the lookout for any information about Aang and Katara and Sokka. There was a one in a million chance that I would actually find them but I would take the risk.

And if I travelled with them, I would naturally meet up with him. _Admiral_ _Zhao_.

And I was going to kill him.


	3. Crushing on a Terrible Flirt

Chapter 3: Crushing on a Terrible Flirt

I winced, fighting the tears which threatened to appear as I spread healing salve on my injuries. My arms were shaking and had an unhealthy shade purple spreading in certain areas. Bruised and battered, I cursed and cursed.

Mom and Dad would have been washing my mouth out if they were able to hear me.

Everything was so stupid and pointless. I had been trying to buy some herbs and supplies when out of nowhere; a dumb brute had run into me. I had stared at his square, weathered, brown face and he scowled at me. I felt a harsh punch to the cheek and heard him say,

"Know your place brat."

I had tried so hard not to react. To just pick myself off the ground, gather my stuff, and just leave but before I knew what I was doing, my hands had begun to smoke and my bag which I had taken from Kita's hut started to burn. I was then pegged as a Fire bender and everyone in the small village were invited to take a shot at me. They kicked me, punched me, bruised me, and enjoyed it like it was some sort of sport. I knew they had been oppressed, and I knew they were only doing as they thought right but it was just so _wrong_.

And I was paying the price.

After keeping still, hoping everyone thought I was dead or unconscious, I gathered my stuff which had been tossed on the ground and crawled out of the village. My crutch, they had snapped in half and I needed a new one which meant making one.

So at the moment, I was taking care of my injuries, cursing, and just feeling terrible.

I had tried to light a fire. I gathered the sticks, the leaves, and hoped I would be able to bend just enough fire to start one to keep me warm for the night but I was unable to. I had several speculations as to why I wasn't able to bend before and why my bending was so choppy. Firstly, I had never been particularly motivated before; other than playing a part in the story, my goals were few and my dedication nearly non-existent.

Now, every morning, I woke with the burning desire to find my brother. And if he was dead, to avenge him. That was what kept me going in times of pain. Secondly, my bending was sporadic because I had absolutely no training what-so-ever. It wasn't magically activated and I could use it to my will, no, I had to train and work in order to master it.

I had remembered a few exercises from some of the episodes, but because I didn't have any time to just sit and breathe all day, I didn't actually do them.

I wasn't even sure if I wanted fire bending in the first place.

I had always imagined myself an air bender or water bender. I was generally peaceful, I went with the flow, I liked being able to express myself and to be free. I didn't like being mad, or angry, or vengeful. Plus, fire bending would get me marked as an enemy to most people; I didn't want that.

Fire bending just wasn't my type… until now.

Every day, a moment would come in which I would just feel livid with anger towards everything and everyone. Usually, whenever I was hit with the fits of rage, I was away from people which I was thankful for.

I didn't like people seeing me upset.

* * *

 _I sat alone in my room, crying and screaming in my pillow. Leave it to my brothers to rip my dreams of being an actual singer apart. I had just been joking about how awesome it would be to get an audition for the Voice, or America's got Talent when they had pretty much told me to my face that it wasn't going to happen. That I could forget about any of it._

 _I sniffled._

 _I knew my brothers cared for me but often, they were quite blunt and rude. A lot of times they had completely humiliated me without even realizing it. Every time I made a mistake, they would never let me forget. From breaking my arm when I was seven jumping off a bunk bed with a scarf around my ankle, to being unable to find the margarine._

 _They called me simple, dumb, weird, loud, too sensitive, and just… not good enough._

 _And I knew that they were mostly right. I could get really loud, I wasn't the smartest, and I was plain, ugly, weird and just… stupid. There was a knock on my door and I brushed my tears away. Having a mirror on the inside of my closet door, I took a good look at myself hoping that no one would be able to tell if I was crying. My eyes were slightly red and I smiled. It didn't look too bad._

 _Opening the door, I forced happiness simply because if they knew I was sad, that would make me less perfect than I already was._

* * *

Disrupting me from my depressing thoughts, the trees and bushes behind me shook a little, signifying that someone might be behind me. Trying not to act suspicious or anything I reached my hand into my bag as if to get more salve, at least I hoped it looked like that. I grabbed my small knife which I had bought off a vendor.

Although when push came to shove, I might be able to defend myself with fire bending, it was a last resort. As tension grew, I could feel my heart beginning to pound.

This is what I truly loathed.

Not knowing what was coming next. I knew if I found Team Avatar, I would be able to know exactly what was going to happen, when it was happening. I wouldn't have to worry about dying or anything; I hoped. But now, outside of the gaang, I had no clue what was going to happen next.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

I yelled, taking my knife, whipping around, and thrusting it at whoever was in front of me.

"Whoa!" The voice exclaimed.

With swift movement, I felt my knife clatter out of my hands. Tripping, I fell flat on my face which did not help my condition at all.

"Hey, are you okay?" the voice, probably a boy's, questioned.

"I've just been attacked by a stranger and have fallen and I can't get up." I said to the dirt. "How is that okay?"

"I wasn't trying to attack you." The voice sighed. "Here." The person said.

I felt a hand grasping my own, pulling me up. I found myself face to face with… a very cute boy. He had brown hair which fell and flopped around his ears and deep brown eyes a girl could get lost in. I immediately assumed he was about my age because there was a little bit of acne but it wasn't so bad. His clothes were slightly unlike the typical Earth kingdom garbs. They were more reddish brown and he had a dark faded blue undershirt. He had some shoulder pads and in his other hand was a strange hooked sword which looked slightly familiar.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks before shooting all thoughts of crushes down. I was Zuko's fangirl. My head would not be so easily turned at the sight of… such a _cute_ boy.

"Are you alright now?" he said smirking.

It was such a hot smirk.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" I answered back.

"You look a little… beat up…" He said gesturing to my bruises.

"Oh… yeah…" My pain had momentarily been forgotten but now that he had brought it up, I was instantly embarrassed that he was seeing more black and blue than brown which was my normal skin tone.

"Do you need some help?" He said being a perfect gentleman.

"No, I'm fine… yeah…" I trailed off.

Pulling myself away from his gaze, I began to finish putting salve on my arms. I was aware of his eyes on me but chose to say nothing. I wrapped up my left leg and checked the bandages on my arms. However, when it came to my right leg, I hesitated.

I had always kept my right leg covered in bandages because usually, the sight of it made most people sick. Scar tissue matted it and everyone regularly stared at it. It made me really self-conscious. Making a spur of the moment decision, I decided to leave the strips of cloth on, despite the fact it would only hurt me in the long run.

I'd just check it after the cute boy left.

"Was it the Fire Nation?"

The absolute hatred in his voice when he said the words "Fire Nation" reminded me of something or someone; I just couldn't put my finger on whom. Deciding it was best to blame the Fire Nation for my troubles, instead of telling him the truth which would have just gotten me beaten up again, I replied,

"Yeah… I was traveling and… well, what's a better way to pass time then to beat up a lone nomad."

"They're brutes. Much too evil to be left traveling the earth." He spat.

I was… surprised at the anger in his voice. But I knew many people had grudges against the Fire Nation, heck, I had a grudge against… well not the nation itself but definitely against Zhao.

Deciding just to follow along, I answered, "Yeah…"

"You look like a fighter." The boy mused.

I scoffed. "I could barely take you on. What makes you think I can actually fight?"

I could not fight to save my life which is pretty sad since learning how to fight would probably save my life but since I didn't know how, the likelihood of me dying before reaching the gaang was quite high.

"Well, you can always be trained. But I wasn't actually talking about ability. I was talking about your spirit. How would you like to join the freedom fighters in ridding the world of the Fire Nation?" The boy held out his hand once more.

His words hit me like a heavy soup can falling from a ten story building onto my head. Freedom fighters. Floppy brown hair. Hooked swords and undeniable hate for the Fire Nation.

I was looking… and crushing… on Jet.

"Lord help me now!" I moaned and fell over as soon as I realized the truth.

I mean, he kind of looked like Jet but at the same time different because, well, he did not look animated. He looked like a real person and that was just enough to distort my eyes from seeing exactly who he was. And now… I had a crush on Jet!

I hated him in the show! He was despicable, over bearing, rude, and a terrible flirt! He fought with Zuko and tried to kill him, which is a big no, no. And he was just… dumb!

"Something tells me you're not alright." Jet said after a moment of me rolling on the ground in frustration.

"I'm fine…" I moaned.

"You keep telling me that but I don't think you are. How about you come with me and I take you to our hideout. There you can rest up and get to know all of us. Don't worry about having to become a freedom fighter or anything, no pressure." He said smoothly.

Then, I finally realized, I had just met Jet. I mean, I had already known that, but reality finally sank in. I had hit the storyline! No more would I have to blindly walk around, unsure of what the next day would bring! If the Freedom fighters were still going, then Aang and the others hadn't come yet, or they were already there!

Hope began to spring in my heart as I began to understand if all went well,

I wouldn't be alone anymore.

Swallowing all negativity and forcing a smile, I replied,

"Sure."

"… That's uncanny." Jet said after a moment.

"What?" I asked slightly confused.

"You're ability to go from moaning to smiling in a split second… maybe you can be used in our fight against the Fire Nation!" Jet said excitedly probably thinking of all the ways he could get me killed.

Getting to my feet, I stumbled a little and once again, Jet caught me. Finding myself staring into his eyes, I questioned my dislike for his character. He really was cute.

"Having troubles walking?" He smirked.

I frowned, once more, remembering how insensitive he could be.

"Yeah… I was attacked nearly a year ago by the Fire Nation as well. They heavily injured my leg so I can't really walk without a crutch. But just today, when I was beaten again, they broke my crutch in half." I said gesturing to the two pieces which were lying on the ground.

"Here." He said placing my arm around his shoulder. "Lean on me. Then when we get back to the hideout, I'm sure we can fix it or find you a new one!"

And like that, with me leaning on him, we walked back to the hideout. As the minutes dragged on, I wondered what exactly I was getting myself into. I was freak'n crushing on Jet!


	4. What Tomorrow Brings

Chapter 4:

Jet watched the troops below him scowling. They were laughing by the fire and enjoying themselves while so many people were suffering. They didn't deserve to be happy. He just needed an opening, then, they would "take care" of them. Turning his attention away from the soldiers, he spotted a group of three kids, a lemur, and an overly large… animal. He didn't know what that thing was. The kids were maybe a little younger than him, walking unsuspectingly close to the Fire Nation encampment. He thought about warning them but thought the better of it. This would be the perfect distraction.

As soon as the soldiers saw them and the kids saw the soldiers, Jet sprung his surprise attack. Dropping from the tree, he weaved in and out of the enemy, disarming them as he went. The rest of the Freedom Fighters followed, except Abigail. She didn't fight. But when one of them got injured, she was great to have on hand.

Catching swords as he went, Jet wished for the millionth time that he could actually kill the soldiers. But he didn't want the younger kids to see the blood, it would mentally scar them.

"Aghh!" Duke shouted as he was thrown off one of the soldiers.

He landed on the ground, his arm bending at an unnatural angle. For a moment, Jet saw red, and dove in, preparing to make that man rue the day he'd been born. Out of nowhere, a giant gust of wind blew, taking the soldier with it. Jet turned and saw one of the kids bending the air. Another kid, the only girl in the group, who was decently pretty, was also bending water.

In just a short amount of time, the Fire Nation soldiers were taken care of. Kneeling down beside Duke, Jet called,

"Abi!"

From her hiding place in the bushes, Abigail appeared. She couldn't have hidden in the trees where it was marginally safer because of her injury, so Abigail usually stayed on the ground. Using her crutch, she limped/walked over to where Jet and Duke were. Her wildly curly hair fell in front of her face as she knelt down and looked at Duke's arm.

"Well he definitely hurt it, that's for sure. It's fractured." She said gravely. "Hold still Duke," Abigail continued in a motherly voice.

Jet had to smirk.

At first, when he let Abigail join the Freedom Fighters, he'd been slightly unsure. She would always have these moments, where she'd behave rather strangely. She was also permanently crippled which meant she couldn't really fight. But she was a pretty good healer and usually, when one of his Freedom Fighters got hurt, they'd just have to suck it up and deal with it. But with Abigail, they got treatment. She'd also become like a mother to most of them, despite being with them for only a few weeks.

Reaching in her bag, she pulled out a little clay jar which was full of her multipurpose healing salve. Rubbing it lightly on Duke's arm, hoping not to upset it any further, she gingerly wiped the salve in over the inflamed area.

Looking around for a moment, she gather a stick, about the size of Duke's arm, but thinner, and tearing off some strips of cloth from the tents, she placed the stick on Duke's arm, straitening it, and then wrapped the cloth around it to hold it in place.

"… Sorry, that's the best I can do…" she said softly, obviously not happy with herself.

"Thanks Abi." Duke said, wincing as he got up.

Jet stood and then walked over to new kids, thinking that maybe they would be some good recruits. However, before he could reach them, a blur of green shot past him and latched itself onto… the strange kid with the arrow on his head.

Even stranger was that the green blur… was Abigail.

* * *

I had to tell myself to snap out of it and focus as I made a splint for Duke. Just a few yards away from me were them! Team Avatar! I kept telling myself to hurry up and fix Duke so then I could introduce myself. Keep calm rang in my head. I could not fangirl or cause a scene. Just as I had finished with Duke, I spied Jet walking over to them. Finally getting a good look at the gaang, I felt all my resolve to act cool crumble.

They were here. They had come. They were going to help me.

Taking notice of me, Aang gave me a small smile. Ignoring the protest of my leg, I leapt up and shot past Jet. Then… I hugged Aang. During that moment, all wisdom and knowledge left me. I was overly emotional. My search was finally coming to an end and my fear, of never knowing what tomorrow might bring was over. I had found my path.

I started tearing a bit and Aang… poor Aang.

"Uhh…" he said looking at Jet.

Jet's eyes were extremely wide and he was kind of shocked.

"She doesn't normally… do this…" Jet said.

"Sorry…" I sniffled before pulling away. "I like hugging people." I tried.

"You like hugging people?" Katara gaped.

Suddenly embarrassed, I blurted out the first thing which came to mind.

"It's a fetish!" I blabbed. "I… uh… just like to hug people! Even strangers! See!" I said.

And to prove my point, I moved over to hug Sokka. As I latched my arms around him, he started screaming like a little girl and panicking, trying to shove me off. I began to laugh. At my giggling, Aang, the sweet boy he was, began to laugh as well.

I let go of Sokka and he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Like you know the little sigh sign that's occasionally used in anime? I could practically see it as I released Sokka.

Looking the Gaang over, I marvelled at their looks. It was the whole confusing cartoon to real life. Thankfully, they looked nothing like their movie counterparts. Sokka was probably slightly taller than me and had surprisingly quite a bit of acne on his face. His skin tone was darker than I expected and his icy blue eyes contrasted greatly with his earthy skin color. Katara was still pretty and her hair was slightly messier than in the show, not entirely tucked neatly into her braid. Really, she looked like a fourteen year old girl who left home. And Aang… he was so dang cute. Like that little boy you just want to love and hug forever. His big grey eyes were mesmerising and he was shorter than I thought he would be.

Although it was slightly confusing, it was pretty amazing to see them as actual people and not just cartoon characters.

"… Hey," Jet finally said after a moment awkward of silence caused by me.

"… That was so cool how you took out a whole army by yourself!" Aang gushed.

Sokka, not wanting to be bested and still pretty prideful since it was only… episode ten? Scoffed and said,

"Please, it was only like twenty guys!"

"My name's Jet." He started, "and these are my Freedom Fighters! Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, the Duke and Pipsqueak… oh, and Abigail who you're already pretty acquainted with it seems."

I snorted. I was so appreciated.

Aang chortled. "Pipsqueak? That's a funny name!"

Pipsqueak who was not at all sensitive about his name but liked to scare people suddenly looked angry and growled,

"You think my name is funny?!"

Aang, not at all fazed, answered, "It's hilarious!"

At this they both burst into laughter and I smiled along with them. Today was a great day in my opinion. A bit later, everyone was checking through supplies. I was standing against a tree with Jet beside me. Watching everyone, I couldn't help but feel contented.

"So, are these your friends?" Jet asked me.

"Huh?" I said a bit startled by the question.

"Actually, we don't know her… at all." Sokka said sceptically.

"Yeah… they're not my friends… but the boy was so… cute?" I tried. "I just had to hug him."

Jet smirked, "How come you never hug me?"

I scowled. He was such an awful flirt. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop the beating of my heart or the fact that if I didn't have such dark coloured skin, everyone would clearly see I was blushing. Spending time with Jet and the Freedom Fighters, I had come to realize Jet truly did care for them. He watched out for them and was basically a father to a lot of them. But he also hated the Fire Nation and would do anything to hurt them. He was complicated.

"Because you are not cute enough." I said haughtily.

He feigned injury. Just then, Katara came up and I knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Um...thanks for saving us Jet. We were lucky you were there." She said shifting on her feet, obviously attracted to him. I remembered how shallow I thought Katara was for even liking the guy. But now, I was such a hypocrite.

"I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning; we just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in."

"Sure, let the kids wander into a Fire Nation camp because you need a distraction. That was so heroic of you." I muttered.

"We were relying on instincts." Katara said slightly exasperated.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet stated.

Sokka who was listening without trying to look like he was eavesdropping flinched and scowled. While Jet went over to talk to Pipsqueak and the Duke, who still looked like he was in pain, I just leaned against the tree wanting to say something to Katara but unable to find anything to say without… embarrassing myself.

"So if you're a Freedom Fighter, why didn't you, well, fight?" Katara asked.

"I can't." I replied a little nervous. I was speaking to Katara! How else would you expect me to react?

"What do you mean you can't?" Katara questioned.

Facing her, I gestured to my leg and answered,

"I was attacked about a year ago. My leg was heavily injured so I can't really walk properly anymore. That's why I have this crutch. And also why I can't fight. Honestly, I don't even know how. But I was apprenticed in the art of healing for about a year. I think that's why Jet keeps me around." I shrugged.

"Oh… the Fire Nation took my mom…" Katara said softly.

I blinked. I often forgot how free she was with her past. She was trusting and sweet and very open with everything unlike me. During my time with the Freedom Fighters, I never once mentioned my brother. I didn't know why. Honestly, even those who I truly trusted had a hard time getting information from me. It was like pulling teeth.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I said sincerely.

"I'm sorry too. It's just hard to believe that some people are so evil. How old were you?" Katara fumed.

"Your age." I said quietly.

"It's despicable… I hate them." Katara muttered.

I didn't say anything. A part of me wanted to, to say that not all of them were evil but I kept silent. Right now wasn't the time.

"—so you want to see our hideout?" I heard Jet say.

Katara perked up immediately and answered, "Yes! We want to see it!"

Jet's smile softened just a little bit and I felt… a small pang of jealousy. I groaned and collapsed to the ground. How could I be jealous? I knew what was going to happen. Jet would betray everyone and Katara would leave him and I would go with them and nothing would come of Jet and Katara but… but…

I rolled on the ground wailing and everyone watched me.

"… Does she normally do that?" Sokka said.

Jet, slightly embarrassed for me, rubbed the back of his head and said, "Occasionally… honestly, I don't think normal is in Abi's vocabulary."

Slightly ticked, I defended, "I can be normal… when I want to…"

Pipsqueak, Duke, and Smellerbee tried to hide their giggles but failed miserably. I was known among the Freedom Fighters for my random outbursts and they often laughed at me for it, good naturally of course.

"Oh shut up." I muttered. "We have a hideout to be heading to anyway."

* * *

It was dinnertime and everyone was gathered around the table except for a few sentries. Although I couldn't climb trees to save my life, the robe mechanism helped me up to the hideouts without many problems. I surveyed the smiling faces of everyone and couldn't help but grin myself. It was moments like these which helped my loneliness just a bit. The glowing lanterns and happy faces reminded me of Chinese New year. Because I lived in Malaysia for seven years of my life and my father was Chinese, every Chinese New year we would visit our family, eat, laugh, and just spend quality time together. This reminded me slightly of that.

Jet stood up to give his little speech which he always gave at dinner. Sometimes he would say something new, but most of the time it was along the lines of, the Fire Nation is evil, we will stop them even if we are kids. He just worded it differently almost every time.

"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine." He announced.

Everyone cheered and even Aang and Katara shouted as well. Sokka however, just looked bummed as Jet continued his little speech,

"I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey."

The helmet-less Duke was sitting on the platform between Longshot and Smellerbee. He stood, joined Jet on the table and amid all the cheers took a victory walk around a fish platter before I grabbed his shirt and gave him the "if you don't sit down and rest I'm going to tie you to a chair" look. I was quite famous for those.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." For a dramatic flourish, he casually took a sip from his wooden cup. "Maybe they're right."

Everyone booed and howled.

"Or maybe...they are dead wrong." Jet said with anger in his voice. The lighting of the lanterns made his eyes look almost red for a moment. Once again, I wondered why on earth I liked him. But then, my heart would come to his defence. He was complicated. Just like I was. Just like we all were.  
Everyone cheered after he finished and Jet took a seat beside Katara and Aang. I was across from them trying to give them space after the hugging incident earlier. I spied Momo resting on Aang's shoulder and held out a little nut to him. Reaching out for it, Momo snacked on it. To my utter joy and delight, Momo then glided over to me. I laughed as he searched me for more nuts.

Katara complimented, "Hey Jet, nice speech."

Jet smirked, "Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today." He said in his "I'm too hot voice"

Katara blushed a bit. "Well, Aang's great. He's the Avatar. I could use some more training."

Deciding that it wasn't healthy for Katara to put herself down, knowing from personal experience, I joined their little conversation,

"You did great as well. I've never met an actual water bender before, but you were fantastic."

"Avatar huh? Very nice." Jet said turning to Aang.

Aang, the innocent, cute, naïve boy he was just replied, "Thanks Jet."

Jet, never one to turn down useful recruits, said, "So I might know a way that you and Aang can help in our struggle."

Sokka, unable to just sit there listening anymore responded curtly, "Unfortunately we have to leave tonight."

He stood and began to walk away but Jet, knowing exactly how to manipulate Sokka complained,

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."

"What mission?" He asked sceptically.

* * *

I tossed and turned in my bed that night. If all went as it did in the episode, Sokka would go on Jet's "mission" angered at Jet and the Freedom Fighters for hurting the old man. I needed to… win them over and prove that I wasn't like the rest of them so that when they left, I could join them. This meant, I needed to intercept Sokka on his way back and talk to him. The plan seemed good but it made me feel slightly shallow. I was manipulating the situation… kind of like Jet. But I needed to go with them; my brother's life depended on it. As soon as I joined them, I would win their trust naturally. With those thoughts in mind, I drifted to sleep.

 _I walked in an empty black void, my steps echoing everywhere. It was cold and lonely; I was very familiar with the feelings. Suddenly, a light flashed and I shut my eyes. I found myself inside… my old room. The faded pink and purple walls were still the same. However, most of my drawings were off the cork board which was over my desk. Then I noticed most of my stuff was missing. My dance bag, my note books, my clothes from the dresser, and even my set of drawers which held all my other stuff was gone. I heard light sniffles._

 _Sitting on the lower bunk of the bed was my sister Marie. Her eyes were red but that wasn't really a surprise. She was quite the cry baby. However, on her lap was a little drawing. It was a crudely drawn picture of me; she and I think Daren, standing side by side. Underneath it was written, "Me, my sister, and my brother" Marie continued to sob. Finally after a moment, she whispered,_

 _"Why did you have to go…?"_

 _The scene shifted to my parents. My mom was sitting at the dining room table also crying and my Dad behind her rubbing her shoulders._

 _"I can't believe they're gone." She cried._

 _"It was bad enough losing a single child but both of them? Why? Why did this have to happen?" My mom wailed._

 _My dad could only hold her as she continued to cry. I felt so guilty. This wasn't the first time I had witnessed this dream. I didn't know if it was my mind, or I was really seeing my family. Apparently, they thought Daren and I were dead. For all I knew, we were dead to them._

 _Then, once more, surprising me, the scene shifted again._

 _This time, it was… it was my best friend. She was sitting alone at her desk, flipping through something. She looked thinner and her eyes had bags under them. I looked closer and I realized what she was reading. When we were thirteen, we had found a good piece of cardboard. We had begun writing best friend quotes from the internet on pieces of paper and taping them to the cardboard and now… she was reading through them. She stopped at the page which held our bucket list. Things we were going to do together._

 _She burst into tears._

 _Throwing the memoir across the room she yelled,_

 _"Why did you leave me? You promised best friends forever! We were going to do so many things together! We were going to go skydiving, form a band, dance together, why did you leave?"_

 _At this I started crying as well._

 _"I didn't want to leave!" I tried to say but the words never came._

 _Instead I found myself back where I had started. Alone in an empty black hole with no way out._

* * *

I woke up with sweat on my brow feeling like crap. I ached and tears were falling out of my eyes. Not a day went by when I didn't think about them, my family or my friends but dreams… they made everything surreal. Getting out of my mat, I walked out of the little tree hut I was in and leaned on the rails. I heard steps. They were light and airy and I had never heard them before. It only took me a moment before I realized who it was.

"Are you okay?" I heard Aang say.

I turned and wiped the tears from my face. Great, now I had been caught crying, something which I loathed. Hoping and praying he hadn't seen me very well because of the dark, I used my "cheery" voice and replied,

"Yeah…"

"… I… uh… heard you crying…" Aang said softly and nervously.

"Well what are you doing up." I snapped.

Aang flinched and suddenly I felt bad for snapping at him like that. He turned to walk away but I grabbed his small hand.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that… I just… I don't like it when people see me cry." I explained.

"I can leave-"He started but I interrupted him.

"You don't have to… I've actually heard that talking with strangers is easier than talking with friends about your problems so… I don't know…" I mumbled.

Sitting down with our backs against the outside of the little tree house, I started,

"I had to leave my family about a year ago. Sometimes, I have dreams. Mostly, it's them asking me why I had to go… they make me feel really crappy and unhappy and just… lonely so… yeah…"

"What does crappy mean?" Aang asked innocently.

I laughed lightly.

"Like poop." I said.

Aang made a face.

"Yeah, I know, weird analogy but it's very common in my… village... don't repeat it…" I replied. "So…" I continued, "Why are you up?"

"… Kind of the same… dreams…"

Instantly, I knew what he was talking about but I didn't press any further. He would confront his own past during another episode… the Storm. It wasn't my place at the moment.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I told him. "Somethings are best shared with either strangers, or the people you trust."

"I… I was gone for a hundred years… Now that I'm back again, I've realized that… all my friends are gone." Aang said softly.

"Not all your friends. You have Katara and Sokka… and even me if you want. I can be your friend if you don't mind." I replied.

"I'd like that Abigail." Aang said with a smile.

"Please call me Abi. My name is really long compared to everyone else's so it's just best to shorten it." I said.

I stretched and yawned. "I really need to get some sleep so, it would be best for both of us to head for bed again."

Aang quickly got to his feet. Crawling, I prepared to use the outside of the hut to sort of help me up. I was surprised when Aang gave me his hand. Taking it, I shakily stood, still leaning against the back of the tree house.

"Thanks." I said.

Aang just smiled and headed back to wherever he had come from. Kind of walking into my little hut, I crawled back onto the little blanket and slept once more. This time, no dreams came to haunt me.

* * *

Sokka stormed back to the hideout, ticked at quite mad at Jet and his little "gang". They were rude, uncaring, and downright horrible to everyone… okay, not everyone, but he certainly hadn't treated that innocent civilian right. He was an old guy who probably hadn't done anything super bad in his life! And Jet had beaten him up!

Sokka watched as Aang and Momo played with the ziplines again. He leapt to a platform still scowling. Noticing Sokka, Aang yelled,

"Sokka! Look what the Duke gave me!"

Aang wore a satchel which was kind of similar to the old man's. Pulling a small pellet from it, he tossed it at Momo. With a sly grin, Aang watched as it exploded with a pop. Momo was not to be messed with. Lunging for the satchel, Mom grabbed it and sat on Aang's shoulder tossing pellets at his feet. Aang danced about wildly but Sokka was not amused.

Sokka heard Aang protest but turned his attentions to his little sister as she approached him.

"Hey Sokka. Is Jet back?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah, he's back. But we're leaving." Sokka replied curtly.

Aang gaped, "What? But we're having so much fun! And making new friends!"

"But I made him this hat." Katara added.

She pulled a rather funky looking… thing from behind her back and Sokka was unimpressed with the workmanship.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug." He accused.

"What? No, he's not." Katara defended.

Sokka continued, "He's messed up Katara."

Aang also came to Jet's defence to Sokka's displeasure, "He's not messed up, and he's just got a different way of life. A really fun way of life."

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!" Sokka said.

Suddenly, Abigail appeared. Sokka wondered where she'd come from but she suddenly said,

"It's not all sunshine and rainbows guys… Although Jet is a friend… he is… complicated and I wouldn't put it past him to hurt a harmless civilian from the Fire Nation... He's done worse." Abigail said darkly.

Sokka was surprised that she was sticking up for him. But Katara, not having it, said,

"I wanna hear Jet's side of the story."

"But Katara-" Abi started before she was shut down.

"Isn't Jet your friend? I can't believe you aren't sticking up for him." Katara jabbed.

"It's because I know him and I care for you that I'm just telling you the truth so none of you get hurt." Abi responded.

"How could I get hurt?" Katara questioned.

"Look, I know you have a crush on him, but you have to understand that people are not always what they seem." Abigail answered.

"You're right. I thought you were someone trustworthy. Turns out you're not." Katara said indifferently before walking away to find Jet.

As Katara left to go find Jet, Sokka sighed. Sometimes, his little sister was way too gullible.

"Watch out." Abigail said all of a sudden. "Jet… he manipulates. He will turn this against you."

Sokka scoffed. "I thought you were his friend or something."

"… Honestly, I think he's just using me. If it weren't for my medical abilities, he would have probably left me to nurse my wounds. Just be on guard… and if you need help, don't hesitate to ask." Abigail said softly.

Sokka nodded. He was still unsure what to make of her. Leaving her to go find his sister, Sokka thought a lot about what Abigail said.

* * *

Sokka was still unhappy but for another reason. He felt pretty worthless at the moment. Right now, he was just walking about while innocent people could die. Behind him, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee followed him making sure he didn't run off or anything. His hands were tied behind his back. Smellerbee gave Sokka a shove and he stumbled but remained on his feet. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of watching him fall.

"Come on, move along!" Smellerbee jabbed.

Sokka unable to stand it anymore yelled back, "How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?"

Pipsqueak responded, "Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay."

"Hey guys!" A female voice called.

Limping up to them with her usual crutch was Abigail. Sokka wondered if she was in on the whole thing. She probably was. Sokka frowned. But then again, she had warned him.

"What are you doing with him?" Abigail asked.

"Jet said keep him busy so we're keeping him busy." Smellerbee snapped.

"Well Jet just told me to run over here and tell you that he changed his mind. You can free him guys. Jet needs your help over by the dam. Apparently, Katara and Aang have gotten wind of the plan and he's fighting them. He needs your help!" Abigail told them.

"How can we be sure you're not lying? No offense Abi, but you are still the newest Freedom Fighter. We're not entirely sure where your loyalties lie."

While the three were talking, Sokka noticed a couple of snare leaf piles nearby. They were identical to the one that captured Momo, right down to the pile of nuts. Because they were distracted, Sokka sprinted for the pile of snares.

"Hey!" Smellerbee shouted trying to grab him. She missed.

Giving chase, Smellerbee didn't notice the snares and while Sokka leapt over the leaf piles, Smellerbee and Pipsqueak didn't and ended up snared many feet in the air. Sokka was surprised that the snares could hold a giant like Pipsqueak, but he didn't dwell on that for long.

"Here, let me untie you!" Abigail suddenly said coming up behind him.

After the knots were untied, Sokka turned around to thank her but Smellerbee shouted,

"Traitor! How could you do this! We let you in to our homes! You were part of the group!"

Looking at her feet, Abigail replied,

"Although I liked you guys a lot… way more than I thought I ever would… I have my own things I need to take care of. Honestly, this could have never been my home."

"Thanks?" Sokka said after a moment.

"Not now, we don't have a moment to spare. We need to get down there and warn the villagers!"

Sokka nodded and followed began to head for the village. He was running but slowed down when he noticed that Abigail was quite a ways behind him.

"Just go! I'll only slow you down!" She yelled.

* * *

Katara and Aang, having just finished the work Jet had given them, had headed towards the reservoir in order to meet up with Jet, however, they on the edge of a cliff, they surveyed a terrible sight. From where they were, they could see four of Jet's freedom fighters unloading barrels from the wagon and arranging them at certain points on the base of the dam.

"What are they doing?" Katara whispered to Aang who stood beside her.

"Those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation…" Aang absentmindedly said.

"Why would they need blasting jelly?" Katara wondered aloud.

Suddenly an awful thought entered his mind. A plan so dastardly that only the cruellest and most hate-filled people would dare to act out. Abigail's words echoed through his mind.

 _"He's done worse."_

"Jet's going to blow up the dam." Aang said softly.

"What?" Katara exclaimed. "No! That would destroy the town! Jet wouldn't do that!"

Aang, deciding he wouldn't waste another moment snapped his glider wings opened and ran for the edge saying,

"I've got to stop him."

As he left, Katara said to herself, "Jet wouldn't do that.

However, before Aang could reach the edge, Jet crossed his path, quickly snatching the glider. Aang dangerously wobbled precariously on the edge and was barely able to use his airbending to move himself back on stable footing.

"Yes I would." Jet said fiercely.

"Jet… why?" Katara asked.

"Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother; we can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again!" Jet replied aggressively.

"This isn't the answer!" Katara cried, her eyes threatening to tear.

"I want you to understand me Katara. I thought your brother would understand but-"

"Where's Sokka?" Katara questioned emotion in every syllable.

Tears began to flow from her eyes. Reaching out, Jet touched her face whispering sweetly,

"Katara…"

She bowed her head as if she was defeated. Just for a moment, Jet thought he had won. Until Katara shouted with anger as she sent Jet flying with water from her waterskin. Jet let go of Aang's trusty glider. Reaching for it, Aang said to Katara,

"I need to get to the dam."

Just as he was about to grab it, the crescent end of one of Jet's Shuang gou pinned it like an axe. With the two weapons hook to hook, he pulled the sword and Aang's glider towards him.

"You're not going anywhere without your glider." Jet said menacingly.

Suddenly, Jet stumbled forward and nearly fell to the ground. Losing his grip of the glider, a hand grabbed it. Behind him, Abigail appeared, apparently having used her crutch as a battering ram.

"Too bad you don't have it." Abigail said defiantly.

"Abi?! What are you doing?" Jet roared angrily.

Katara and Aang just stared, unsure what to make of the situation.

"I'm doing what's right. Catch!" Abigail called.

* * *

I threw the glider as high as I could into the air after answering Jet's question in the cheesiest way possible. Knowing that Jet wasn't an airbender and Aang was, I was confident I had thrown it high enough so that only Aang could catch it. Catching on (see what I did there) really fast, Aang blasted himself into the air and fingered the glider. However, not everything went as I hoped. Catching onto Aang's foot, Jet dragged him to the ground and the glider fell to the floor. I reached for it again but this time I didn't have surprise on my side… or speed. Jet kicked me back and I fell a monkey on a unicycle on ice… don't ask.

"Abi!" Aang yelled as I my head hit the back of a tree.

Turning to Jet, Aang said, "I don't want to fight you."

Jet who had unfortunately and successfully retrieved the glider answered,

"You'll have to if you want your glider back."

Then, they fought. It was so smooth and fast, I couldn't keep up well. I suddenly realized how inept and weak I was. Even though my leg was injured, I needed to learn how to defend myself. I at least should try.

They went back and forth, one never getting the upper hand over the other, except for the fact that Jet still had Aang's glider. Getting up, I hoped to ambush Jet once more but I couldn't keep up with them and he was still watching me slightly. However, he wasn't watching Katara.

Jet was smashed by a large water strike. Using the water from the river, Katara threw Jet up against the trunk of a nearby tree. Unable to defend himself against the water, Jet could only stand there and get battered. I didn't like watching him get beat up but I knew it was necessary. My stupid crushing heart was so annoying. Freezing him to a tree, Katara cried,

"Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me! You're sick and I trusted you."

Suddenly, a signal call was heard, slightly startling Katara and Aang. I knew the call and moved to gag Jet with my hand but I was too slow. I knew Sokka was there getting everyone out, but I didn't want to take any chances. Jet answered the call and I knew what was going to happen.

"What are you doing?" Katara interrogated.

Jet smirked but this time, instead of cute, it seemed evil.

"You're too late."

Horrified, Katara yelled, "No!"

Aang having taken his glider ran for the nearby waterfall. His glider's wing was shredded and torn thanks to the fight so he had no lift and slammed into the ground near the edge. Katara ran over to help him.

"Sokka's still out there. He's our only chance." Aang said after a moment.

"Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please." Katara whispered.

I could only watch the tension building. It was terrifying. Seeing it on a screen, the full impact of the situation never had reached me but watching it unfold before my very eyes scared me.

Then the dam exploded. Smoke and fire was in the distance and I watched helplessly as the massive wall of water rushed towards the town.

Katara paled. "No…"

"Sokka didn't make it in time." Aang said solemnly.

Filled with anger, Katara turned towards Jet,

"All those people… Jet you monster!"

Jet just replied, "This was a victory Katara."

I snapped. I walked over and slapped him. Jet looked at me filled with hate because I had betrayed him but I didn't care.

"There is no victory when innocent blood is spilt. There is no victory when civilians die. There is no triumph when the hero turns into the monster he swore to defeat." I quoted from a book. "This wasn't a victory Jet. And you aren't a hero. You're not even a Freedom Fighter." I finished coldly.

"The Fire Nation is gone! They deserve to be gone! This valley will be safe!" Jet yelled at me.

"It will be safe; without you." Sokka suddenly said.

In shock, Jet looked up to see Sokka, Appa, and the darling little cute lemur Momo rise from below the level of the cliff. With Appa's reins in hand, Sokka looked pretty darn cool.

"Sokka!" Katara cheered.

"I warned the villagers of your plan just in time!"

"What?" Jet spat.

Sokka explained, "At first they didn't believe me. The Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy. But one man vouched for me, the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust me, and we got everyone out in time."

Jet shouted, "Sokka, you fool! We could've freed this valley!"

Sokka replied, "Who would be free? Everyone would be dead."

Jet practically screamed, "You traitor!"

"No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people." Sokka finished.

Looking absolutely pitiful, Jet tried,

"Katara… Please… help me…"

"Goodbye Jet."

"Abi?"

I sighed. He was using puppy dog eyes which should have been illegal for him. I turned around to face him and the gaang tensed, wondering if I would free him.

"Jet… somewhere, deep down inside of you… really deep… like super, truly, under the ground deep… there is someone who wants to be a hero. And I'm sure when you started out, you weren't… well… as bad as you are now. The desire to be a hero hasn't faded… it's just been covered up with a hard, cruel exterior. You need to think Jet. You need to delve deep into your own heart because if you don't find that innocent desire, you will forever be a villain." I said.

"Abi… please…"

"Jet!" I yelled. "Just stop. For once, just stop! Stop lying, stop manipulating, stop cheating, and stop turning these kids into killers! You knew that Katara liked you… you knew I liked you… but that didn't stop you from using us. For once, could you look at us like human beings instead of opportunities? … Just leave me alone…"

I walked away and somehow found myself standing by Aang.

"That must have been hard for you to do." Aang said. "To let go…"

"You have no idea what I'm still clinging on to…" I said under my breath.

"What did you say?" Aang asked innocently.

Taking in deep breath and covering up my previous statement,

"Please take me with you!"

Sokka, Katara, Aang and even Momo froze.

"What?" Sokka said confused.

"I'm looking for someone… And travelling on my own usually gets me attacked and beaten up… You guys… you guys are pretty awesome and… well… travelling on a flying bison would be much faster than walking and… I want to help you guys defeat the Fire Lord. I know… I know I can't defend myself very well… but I can do sewing, cooking, cleaning, and have some knowledge as a healer. If you guys get injured, I'm sure I can patch you up. So please… take me with you."

"Sure!" Aang said excitedly. "Since we're already friends!"

I blinked at how willingly he let me join.

Sokka shrugged. "My instincts say its fine so… welcome to aboard."

Katara was a bit hesitant. Granted, we hadn't talked to each other a lot and we had slightly butted heads when it came to Jet.

"… I don't see why not…" She finally said.

Everyone got onto Appa and I just stood there awkwardly unable to get up on my own.

"… Um… a little help?"

Aang held out his hand and pulled me up suddenly. I yelped as I landed awkwardly onto the giant saddle. Sokka said the famous words,

"Yip Yip."

And suddenly we were flying. We headed for the sky and I giggled like a little girl. The sky was so large and inviting. The wind was blowing my hair out of my face and I smiled wider than I had even before. I noticed Aang looking at me and he coughed turning to Sokka saying,

"We thought you were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?"

Katara smirked, "Let me guess, your instincts told you."

"Hey," Sokka protested, "Sometimes they're right."

"Um... Sokka? You know we're going the wrong way, right?" Aang said after a moment.

Sokka faltered but quickly recovered.

"And sometimes they're wrong." Sokka admitted.

I laughed and said,

"I'm looking forward to traveling with ya'll."

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **And after three weeks, she finally updates! ... Three weeks...**

 **Sorry about that. I've had Chinese New Year going on which is basically two weeks of nonstop partying and eating so... i'm fat and lazy right now... Also, this chapter is really long so... as an apology.**

 **I just want to say something, this thing will not be complete. Like, I won't write every episode. I will write the episodes I want to write. But don't worry, it will all make sense and flow correctly. I have a couple things I want to do with this. The main reason I won't be writing all episodes is because that will take way too much of my time.**

 **Well, even though it took me a long time, I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **with lots of smiles,**

 **BigEyesBigSmile**


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